The Emperor Reigns Them All

Chapter 309 This Is the Gap between Us

Dragon-subduing Arhat had never thought that Li Ye would kill him with great ease. They only fought for one time since they met. But it was just the only attack without any tricks that decided the winner. What they competed with each other was their cultivation power. Thus, Li Ye won Dragon-subduing Arhat in an oversimplified, crude, and efficient way.

But this was the most unacceptable reason for Dragon-subduing Arhat. After all, he was in the Ground Immortal Realm, but Li Ye was only a Yang Spiritual Master. They had a gap of two realms. He was an Immortal, but Li Ye was a mortal. Between them, there was a huge gap as the gap between heaven and earth. It was by no means easy for him to ignore such a huge gap.

What made Dragon-subduing Arhat feel more uncomfortable was that he was more than a Ground Immortal Realm master before he descended into this world. To be more precise, the arhat that Li Ye killed just now was not an Immortal in the Ground Immortal Realm, but an Immortal in a much higher realm! Dragon-subduing Arhat could not accept this reality even before the moment of his death.

Li Ye could not felt Dragon-subduing Arhat’s feeling, but he didn’t want to experience that either. He had no interest in a dead person’s mood because he had to confront many more still alive opponents. After Li Ye chopping off Dragon-subduing Arhat’s head, his eyes flashed like lightning. He turned around, and once again, he looked at Li Sizhao, who was still at the outer gate of the military camp.

On top of Qinzhou City’s wall, everyone had a different expression. Their only similarities were the shock and deep fear in their eyes.

Seeing Dragon-subduing Arhat being killed with his own eyes, Li Keyong didn’t know why he would feel so delighted that he even wanted to grin.

“Since the appearance of Dragon-subduing Arhat, he was on his high horse and looked down on me. He seemed to give me alms whenever he spoke to me. As an Immortal, he put on great airs. Not just Dragon-subduing Arhat, but all the people in Land Buddhism are like that. But now, a mortal killed a mighty Immortal from Land Buddhism. I will wait and see how all of you can go about with your heads high in the air! What a gratifying thing!”

After casting a glance at Feihong Bodhisattva, Li Keyong snorted coldly in his heart. He now even had a good laugh at those Immortals. “Everybody knows that you Immortals from Land Buddhism are awesome. Now by killing one of you, Li Ye humiliated all of you. I’d really like to see how you are going to end this battle against Li Ye!”

However, Feihong Bodhisattva was still sitting cross-legged with an indifferent look. Dragon-subduing Arhat died, but she did not react at all. It seemed as if the death of Dragon-subduing Arhat had nothing to do with her. Or maybe she had seen through life and death, so she had no joy or sorrow.

Because of her high spiritual realm and a good state of mind, Feihong Bodhisattva stayed still, but Deer-sitting Arhat could no longer sit still. As the head of the 18 arhats, Deer-sitting Arhat had a strong sense of responsibility. He had always regarded himself as the eldest brother of the other 17 arhats. Now Li Ye had killed the 17th Dragon-subduing Arhat and the 18th Crouching-tiger Arhat. So he could not turn a blind eye to what was happening.

Putting his palms together, Deer-sitting Arhat turned around to greet Feihong Bodhisattva. His voice swelling with anger, he said, “Bodhisattva, I don’t know what kind of evil techniques that Li Ye had learned. He could even murder Dragon-subduing and Crouching-tiger in a row. We can no longer underestimate him from now on. When the Huang Chao Uprising happened, our Buddhism once prepared to come out and take control of the world. But it was exactly Li Ye who stopped us. Besides, he killed dozens of Kong Kim Realm masters from Buddhism. As a result, he destroyed a hundred years of our accumulation on one day! This person is nobody but an extremely vicious devil. If Buddhism intends to enlighten all the people in this world and make this world a pure land, he will be our biggest stumbling block!” “Please order me to kill this evil guy!”

Lightly, Feihong Bodhisattva looked at him and asked, “Do you want to go there alone?”

Deer-sitting Arhat thought that he should shoulder the responsibility. “As a mortal who has merely reached the Yang Spiritual Master realm, he went against his superiors and killed two Immortals in a row. He is a threat to the dignity of Land Buddhism! If this can be tolerated, what cannot? But there will be nothing to be proud of if many Immortals from our Land Buddhism arise and kill him. Instead, it is a humiliation to all of us! Only if I stand out to fight with him in person and successfully pin him down can I retrieve some of Land Buddhism’s dignity!”

Feihong Bodhisattva waved her hand freely. “Then go ahead.”

Immediately after Deer-sitting Arhat got the order, he turned around to fight with Li Ye.

Upon seeing such a scene, Li Keyong curled his lips. “Retrieve some of Land Buddhism’s dignity? As a master in the Ground Immortal Realm, Deer-sitting Arhat comes out to deal with Li Ye, who is only in the Spiritual Master Realm. Even if he defeats Li Ye, he cannot restore their dignity. If they are capable enough, they should send someone in the Spiritual Master Realm there. If this person can handle Li Ye, then they can truly show Land Buddhism’s mighty background.”

“But the truth is that no one of Land Buddhism in the Spiritual Master Realm can deal with Li Ye. Or else they will truly do that.”

Watching Deer-sitting Arhat coming at Li Ye, Li Keyong asked Feihong Bodhisattva, “If even Deer-sitting Arhat cannot defeat Li Ye, will you go out to fight?”

Feihong Bodhisattva didn’t bother to glance at him. With a dimly discernible and indifferent voice, she replied to him as if she were talking to a stone. “No.”

Li Keyong tried hard to conceal his disgusted feeling and asked. “Why?”

Feihong Bodhisattva took the success of Deer-sitting Arhat for granted. “Deer-sitting Arhat can certainly defeat Li Ye!”

Deer-sitting Arhat was not an ordinary Immortal. When Li Ye killed Crouching-tiger, he was not on the spot. But he saw it clearly how Li Ye killed Dragon-subduing. At this moment, he alone dared to come out to challenge Li Ye because he knew that he could rely on his cultivation strength, which was much stronger than Dragon-subduing Arhat’s.

With force as strong as the thunderbolt, Li Ye beheaded Dragon-subduing Arhat because he had much stronger cultivation power. Hence Deer-sitting Arhat assumed that Li Ye had an advantage in his great cultivation power. Only by making full use of his cultivation power to eliminate his enemy once they met could he win the battle. In other words, except for his cultivation power, Li Ye’s ability in other aspects was no match for the Ground Immortal Realm masters, for example, the power of techniques.

Therefore, Deer-sitting Arhat had no intention to confront Li Ye with toughness even if he thought that his cultivation power was not weaker than Li Ye’s.

He intended to combine his power of the “Immortal Area” with his techniques first. And then he could thoroughly defeat Li Ye with his much higher realm and directly win the battle. During the battle, Deer-sitting Arhat would never give Li Ye any chance to get closer to him because he was afraid that Li Ye might break his defense by his violent cultivation power.

Of course, his analysis might also be incorrect. But as long as he gave no chance for Li Ye to fight close combats with him, Li Ye would not be able to win by the first attack. Then, Deer-sitting Arhat could get enough time to deal with Li Ye.

“No big deal. If I can’t defeat him, other arhats can help. They will never watch Li Ye taking my life away. At this period, we have a lot of unoccupied arhats. Besides, all of us have already known Li Ye’s ability and tricks, and so we are well-prepared. When he killed Dragon-subduing Arhat, we were totally unprepared for that situation. Thus, after we realized what happened, it was already too late for us to save Dragon-subduing.”

Thinking of this, Dragon-subduing Arhat felt very calm. At this time, he was sure that he could win. With determination, he looked at Li Ye as if he were watching the fish on the chopping block.

After Li Ye killed Dragon-subduing Arhat, he pretended to attack Li Sizhao. As he had expected, other arhats instantly appeared after seeing his action. Thus, when Li Ye looked up and saw Deer-sitting Arhat, he slightly narrowed his eyes. Deer-sitting Arhat was strongest among the 18 arhats. Whether it was his cultivation power or his wisdom and experience could never be neglected.

However, Li Ye also had made a plan for this.

Before he went to the battlefield, Li Ye clearly analyzed and compared the strength of his enemy and himself. He had figured out an all-round plan to win.

The 18 arhats were the strongest masters in the Ground Immortal Realm, but Li Ye was only in the Spiritual Master Realm. Thus, Li Ye’s strength was not comparable to them. Beyond that, as Immortals from Land Buddhism, their realm was much higher before they came down to earth, and they must have learned enough means to fight against their enemies. If Li Ye wanted to win, he must avoid struggling hard against them. The best way for him to win was to take them by surprise and never give these Immortals the chance to use their various techniques.

In previous, when he confronted Dragon-subduing Arhat and Crouching-tiger Arhat, Li Ye exerted all his strength to attack them. He forced his enemies to compete with him by only using the cultivation power. In this way, Li Ye found himself an opportunity to eradicate his enemies by one attack.

However, it was evident that if Li Ye had used such a trick once or twice, his opponents would undoubtedly take precautions to prevent him from using this trick again. If Li Ye wanted to keep on winning the other arhats of the 18 arhats, he should have some backup plans.

All the 18 arhats were in the Immortal Realm. When people had reached the Immortal Realm, it meant that they had realized the truth and could have their own Immortal Area, which was the Immortal Realm’s typical feature. Besides, the power of their techniques could also be greatly enhanced, and they could use many techniques that Spiritual Master Realm masters could not.

Li Ye secretly thought. “After the 18 arhats find out that my cultivation power is extremely overbearing, they will absolutely avoid engaging in a hand-to-hand fight with me. Instead, they will make use of the power of the Immortal Area and techniques to deal with me. Immortals’ techniques have supernatural power, which is impossible for me to defend effectively, and I can’t find a good breakthrough method. There’s nothing that I can do but adopt different measures to deal with different techniques. However, if those arhats used the Immortal Area, I could take advantage of that.”

By making use of his great understanding of the Great Tao, Li Ye could contend with Feihong Bodhisattva, who was Daluo Golden Immortal before she descended to the world and also one of the few Great Power in Land Buddhism. But with her comprehending of the Great Tao, she failed to invite Li Ye into her “painting”.

Thus, Li Ye certainly was not afraid of the 18 arhats who had cultivated for nearly a thousand years and whose understanding of the Great Tao was much worse than Feihong Bodhisattva. If they dared to use the power of Immortal Area forcibly, Li Ye would surely give them a surprise.

Thinking of this, Li Ye had already got an idea, so he directly rushed to Li Sizhao.

Seeing Li Ye coming at Li Sizhao, Deer-sitting Arhat thought that Li Ye would kill him soon. So he yelled out loud in a hurry, “You d*mn devil! Don’t do anything vicious!”

Li Ye was too close to Li Sizhao and his troops. Thus, Deer-sitting Arhat knew that if he got closer, he was giving Li Ye the chance to compete for the cultivation power with him. But if he chose to use those techniques, he would also hurt lots of Hedong Army’s soldiers and generals no matter how carefully he used them. In this case, Deer-sitting Arhat did not think about anything else. When he screamed, he activated the Immortal Area at once and directly used it to cover Li Ye!

The Spiritual Master Realm had the territory, which was the extension of force. The Immortal Realm had the Immortal Area, which was the entity of Tao. Anyone knew that the Immortal Area was stronger.

These monks cultivated day and night to understand the Great Tao. After a hundred years of cultivation, they might be able to achieve the Immortal Realm. And it would take them a thousand years to get the opportunities to understand the truth of Great Tao. Thus, making use of the Great Tao’s power was always the sharpest weapon of Immortal Realm masters.

But it was a pity that no one could guess Li Ye’s acts by common sense.

“You d*mned devil, you will be captured no matter how hard you try!”

Then, Deer-sitting Arhat started the Immortal Area and directly fixed his bright piercing eyes on Li Ye. To save Li Sizhao’s life, Deer-sitting Arhat planned to control Li Ye quickly. So he directly attacked Li Yi’s consciousness by his glare and attempted to throw Li Ye into his painting in no time.

Li Ye looked at the Deer-sitting Arhat, and then the sight in his eyes kept changing for a while. All of a sudden, there appeared a kingdom of Western Regions. In this kingdom, everyone faced a glittering monk in midair, devoutly prostrating themselves in worship. Amid them, Li Ye was deeply affected by such a shocking scene and was nearly going to kneel down in adoration.

However, Li Ye’s legs only trembled a little, and his knees didn’t even bend a little. Abruptly, he punched and gave a blow to the monk with myriad golden rays in the midair!

“Between heaven and earth, I will never pay homage to anyone!”

“I am a Hidden Dragon, which is qualified to become a True Dragon. I am going to be the master of heaven and earth!”

“Between heaven and earth, I am the supreme being! I can rein the Immortals and demons! No one can make me bow down!”

“Even if I cannot eventually turn into a True Dragon, I won’t bow down at anyone’s feet!”

“I would rather choose to perish and die than kneel down before others and contribute my dignity to beg others for protection! I don’t care if he is a god, an immortal, or a saint!”

“A Hidden Dragon will never surrender to any other existence! It is the most fundamental way to be the emperor!”

Li Ye growled like a dragon and launched a punch with his will condensed into it. The punch darted out like a black dragon swimming into a sea, and it knocked down the blistering monk in midair! Suddenly, the scene before him was reduced to fragments like a broken mirror.

The Buddhist Country was Deer-sitting Arhat’s Immortal Area. Before he converted to Buddhism, he was one of the nobility. Later on, he got great achievements through cultivation. After he backed to his country, he persuaded his king to become a Buddhist and made the kingdom a Buddhist Country. Since he made such a significant contribution to Buddhism in Land Buddhism, he was awarded the position of Deer-sitting Arhat.

But Deer-sitting Arhat did not expect that Li Ye was not affected by the power of his Immortal Area, nor did he be tricked into his painting! Not only that, but in turn, his soaring will burst out. With the help of such a towering will, he shattered the grand view of his Immortal Area by one punch!

Initially, after releasing his Immortal Area, Deer-sitting Arhat thought that Li Ye would die without doubt. So he also came over to Li Ye and was about to take off his head at any time. But Li Ye punched and smashed his Immortal Area to pieces. Deer-sitting Arhat looked as if he were struck by lightning, and his mind was in a fog at this time. While vomiting blood, he flew back into the air! This time, Li Ye struck him at a totally unguarded moment.

Li Ye certainly would not let such an excellent opportunity go. Right away, he got closer to the Deer-sitting Arhat. A sharp flash of cold light flashed across Deer-sitting Arhat’s neck!

Before Deer-sitting Arhat came to his senses, he was beheaded by Li Ye!

His soul froze in the same place. Li Ye quickly grabbed it into his hand while his soul shouted in horror. “It was impossible! How could you break through my Immortal Area! How could your understanding of the Great Tao pass mine? It could not be true! You are merely a mortal who has only lived for more than 20 years in this world. How can you have such a thorough grasp of the Great Tao... ”

Li Ye sneered. With his eyes full of disdain and pity, he looked at Deer-sitting Arhat. “Some people have a lifetime of experience, but they are still at a loss when they become old. After going through countless ups and downs in their life and being judged by others in the view of morals, they gained nothing in the end. However, although some people are still very young, they can almost think without boundaries with their limited experience and knowledge. They know how to draw inferences from one fact to understand the true meaning of life and the world’s Great Tao. Whatever happens to them, these young ones can live with ease and happiness. This is the gap between you and me!”

After finishing the speech, Li Ye clenched his hand. With a bang, he directly crushed Deer-sitting Arhat’s soul.

The soul of the 18 arhats’ leader now perished.